In light of these events, Macedonia was not immune either, and thus the local society. Namely, while the Macedonian government firmly stood behind Israel and gave full support to the country in these difficult moments after the terrorist attacks by Hamas, the domestic society did not remain homogeneous when it came to condemning terrorism and war.

How do domestic propagandists use the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

One of the numerous cases that shocked the domestic public is the case of the head of the Ministry of the Interior, who supported the attacks of the Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel with posts on Facebook.

On the Facebook profile under the name Adi Adii, you can find several posts supporting Hamass attacks on Israel. From the same profile, heated discussions are held with the former Minister of the Interior, Nake Chulev, who publicly pointed out this problem.

According to the former Minister of Internal Affairs from the ranks of VMRO-DPMNE, we are talking about the person A.S., head of the Security Department in the Ministry of Interior, who works as a personal security guard for Deputy Minister of Interior Nazim Bushi. According to Chulevs post on FB, this person works as a high-ranking police official responsible for VIP security, participation in domestic and foreign delegations, and attendance at international events. By his posts on Facebook, according to Chulev, national security is threatened by supporting terrorist attacks on Israel.

He had previously made several public announcements on social networks, which contained unambiguous elements of hate speech, a criminal offense under the Criminal Code - pointed out Chulev.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately reacted to the case where they informed that the Department of Internal Control and Professional Standards is acting on the case of police officer A.S. and his posts on the Facebook social network regarding Hamass attacks on Israel and disciplinary proceedings will be initiated against him, that is, appropriate sanctions will follow.

"The position of the MUP and the Government is clear and precise." We strongly condemn the attacks of the Hamas group on Israel and stand in solidarity with the Israeli people. We appeal for solutions through dialogue. The world needs peace," stated the statement of the Ministry of Interior.

At the same time, speculations, untruths, and unverified news about the conflict between Israel and Palestine are constantly spreading in the domestic public. Social networks are perhaps one of the most used tools after the media to spread hate speech and lies.

The next of the numerous examples of correspondence on social networks was the one between the leader of the Left, Dimitar Apasijev, and the former mayor of Skopje Petar Šilegov. In an exchange of words and "facts" about the war, the first man of the left wrote that "the rightists are for the Israelis" while "the leftists are for the Palestinians." Shilegov reacted to this status and wrote: "And those who have at least 2 grams of intelligence are against war and human sacrifice...".

The war in Israel is the cause of strife in the Balkans: Serbs for Israel, Bosniaks for Palestinians.

In addition to the already existing numerous divisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina - over the issue of property, the future of the Constitutional Court, the jurisdiction of entities, unitarization, or even greater decentralization - local politicians managed to divide themselves over support for the conflicting parties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, writes Serbian Blic.

The tragic events in a large number of Israeli cities due to attacks by the Palestinian Hamas, as well as the brutal use of force by the Israeli army in Gaza, represented a new ideal opportunity for politicians from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to show that they do not agree on anything, not even on matters that are directly concern Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is thousands of kilometers away.

After Palestinians fired rockets at numerous Israeli cities, Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik was among the first to condemn and offer open support to Israel.

Although, unlike in previous years, no protests in support of the Palestinians were organized in Sarajevo, the messages of the political leaders there clearly show on whose side their sympathies lie.

- You cannot observe the situation without saying that the struggle of the Palestinian people for their state has been going on for decades, and nothing has been achieved. What inspired Hamas to do this? Well, these are desperate people who see this kind of attack and terrorizing civilians as the way out. Unfortunately, innocent people will pay the highest price - said Željko Komši?, a member of the BiH Presidency. 

For the truth in the conflict, deep verification of information is necessary; experts advise

Professor Michal Wit explains for "Free Seal" that everyone knows that Macedonia and the Balkans have long been fertile ground for the hybrid activities of those who do not think well of the country and the region. He explains that research by numerous institutions has shown that misinformation and propaganda are only a tiny part of the range that power centers use in their actions. Unfortunately, this is often done by presenting unverified facts on social networks.

- They are used as part of a strategy of continuous special warfare aimed at spreading disinformation aimed at destabilizing the security society. That is why hybrid threats must not be underestimated in Macedonia and the region, of which misinformation is an integral part - he says.

The EU strongly criticizes the networks H (Twitter) and Facebook (Meta) for spreading lies

The European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, warned the American billionaire and owner of the social platform H (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk, that the platform is flooded with disinformation about the war in Israel, which is against the legal framework of the European Union.

-After the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel, we have indications that your platform is being used to spread illegal content and disinformation in the EU. Let me remind you that there are particular content editing obligations under the Digital Services Act, Breton said in a letter to Musk.

Breton, who is also in charge of the digital transition, specified that the media and civil society organizations massively report that disinformation and false and manipulated images are circulating on the H platform about the war in Israel, for example, from some other conflicts or video games. Breton called on Musk to be "extremely transparent and clear about what content is allowed" and added that he must consistently implement the outlined business policy, which is "especially important when it comes to violent and terrorist content" that is "obviously circulating" online. H. The letter published on H also indicates that the competent European authorities have already issued warnings.

A similar reaction from European institutions was addressed to the owner of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, due to the companys inability to control the spread of disinformation on Facebook. 

^{North Macedonian Media Partner Link: https://www.slobodenpecat.mk/konfliktot-vo-izrael-niz-prizmata-na-govorot-na-omraza-lagite-i-propagandite/}